CHICAGO -- The international law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP has signed a letter of intent with Hines and Ivanhoé Cambridge to become the anchor tenant of River Point beginning in the Spring of 2017.

The new office tower will be located at 444 W. Lake St, McDermott's office is currently located at 227 W. Monroe St. The company, which has about 1,100 lawyers in 19 cities around the world, was first established in 1934 as a small, Chicago tax law firm. Groundbreaking for River Point took place last week. It will be a state-of-the-art, 40-story office tower located in Chicago's West Loop. McDermott will lease approximately 225,000 square feet of Class A office space in the building. “River Point will be the first major office building to rise in Chicago since the onset of the financial crisis and we couldn't be more excited to be a part of it,” said Jeffrey E. Stone, co-chair of McDermott, says in a press release. McDermott Will & Emery LLP was represented by Colliers International's David Kahnweiler, Bob Chodos and Steve Levitas. Greg Van Schaack and Tom D'Arcy led the team at Hines and Ivanhoé. “River Point has been designed to meet all the needs of a 21st Century law firm and we're very pleased to become its anchor tenant,” McDermott co-chair Peter J. Sacripanti says. Proud of its Midwestern roots and client roster, McDermott's Chicago office serves individuals and small, medium and large cap private and public companies, often including their owners, officers and directors. McDermott also has offices in Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Dsseldorf, Frankfurt, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Milan, Munich, New York, Orange County, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. It also has a strategic alliance with MWE China Law Offices in Shanghai.